Setting Up Technicians

Technicians must be set up before they can be assigned service work.

Setting Up the Technicians

1. Select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Service Management > Lookup Setup > Technicians > Technicians.
2. Complete the following fields, as necessary.
   • Technician ID
     Unassigned is a default technician ID and cannot be deleted.
   • Inactive
     Mark this checkbox to inactivate the technician. Inactive technicians cannot be assigned to new service calls and will not appear on most lookup lists. They only display in Technician Setup and the Source Technician lookup in Technician Mass Reassignment (Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Utilities > Service Management > Tech Reassignment). You can reactivate a technician at any time.

   • Employee ID or Vendor ID
     Link the technician to either an employee ID or a vendor ID. Select the appropriate radio button and enter the corresponding ID. If you have not yet set up the employee or vendor in Microsoft Dynamics GP, you can zoom on the Employee ID or Vendor ID field to do so. An employee ID can only be associated with one Technician ID. 

     

     If neither the Employee ID or Vendor ID is selected, the Technician ID is saved as the Technician Long Name. 

   • Primary Skill Level
     When creating appointments, the system checks the technician's primary skill level against the skill level required to perform the task. You are still able to schedule the appointment if the skill levels do not match.
   • Technician Team
     Used with Schedule.
   • Extended Hours
     If you are using the Advanced Scheduling modules, enter the amount of time a technician can work beyond each daily shift. For example, if a technician is assigned to a 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. shift (8 hours) and has two hours of extended time, you can assign the technician to service call appointments for a total of 10 hours. The extended hours can occur at the beginning and/or end of the technician's shift. If an appointment's estimated time exceeds the technician's extended hours, you will receive a message. You can password protect scheduling a technician past the extended hours.
   • Refrigerant Certification #
     Enter the certification number required to work on refrigeration systems, as specified under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act.
   • Branch Name
     If you are using global filtering, enter branch information. The Affiliate, Region, and Branch fields fill in based on the branch name selected; these fields are not editable.  For information on assigning multiple branches, see Assigning technicians to multiple branches.
3. Additional setup options are available via buttons in this window:
   • Skill Set - see Assigning skill sets to technicians.
   • Labor Plan - see Assigning labor plans to technicians.
   • Shifts - see Assigning shifts to technicians.
   • Activities - see Viewing technician activities.
   • Service Areas - see Assigning service areas to technicians.
   • Inventory Sites - This is used with MobileTech. This determines what inventory sites will be synchronized to the technician's device. Typically, each technician is assigned to a site that equates to their truck. 
4. Select Save.

Assigning Skill Sets to Technicians

You can set up a detailed description of a technician's skills, which is useful when scheduling. The information can be viewed by zooming on the Technician ID field.

1. Select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Service Management > Lookup Setup > Technicians > Technicians.
2. Select a technician and select the Skill Set button in the Technician Setup window.
3. Enter a Skill Set ID, then complete the following fields as necessary:
   • System
     Use the lookup to make a selection. You cannot enter information that does not exist in the lookup data. See Setting up System, Major, Sub 1-4.
   • Major
     Use the lookup to make a selection. You cannot enter information that does not exist in the lookup data. 
   • Certification Agency, Date Last Certified, Date Certification Expires, and License Number
     Mark the Certified checkbox if the technician is certified, and use these fields to describe the certification.
4. Select Save to return to the Technician Setup window.

For skill level setup information, see Setting Up Skill Levels.

Assigning Labor Plans to Technicians

You can forecast a technician's available monthly labor hours in the Technician Labor Plan window. This availability information is necessary when scheduling a technician throughout the year. In addition, this information is used with the Labor Loading module.

1. Select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Service Management > Lookup Setup > Technicians > Technicians.
2. Select a technician and select the Labor Plan button in the Technician Setup window.
3. Enter a Year or select one using the lookup window.
4. Enter the estimated time you want this technician to spend in each category for each month:
   • Burden Hours are non-billable hours.
   • Billable Hours are hours for non-maintenance contract-related service calls.
   • MCC Hours are hours for available computer-generated maintenance contracts.
   • MC Hours are maintenance contract-related hours.
5. Select Save to return to the Technician Setup window.

Assigning Shifts to Technicians

Once shifts are set up, you can assign one or more shifts to a technician. You would use more than one shift if the technician's working schedule temporarily changes, for example, from days to nights. To be scheduled, the technician must be assigned to a shift.

1. Select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Service Management > Lookup Setup > Technicians > Technicians.
2. Select a technician and select the Shifts button.
3. Use the lookup in the Shift ID field to select an existing shift, then fill in the following fields on the line:
   • Start Date and End Date
     Enter a Start Date and End Date to specify when the technician will be working the shift. Start and end dates are required for all non-default shifts. When service call appointments are assigned, the system uses these dates to determine which shift the technician is working.
   • Default
     It is required that you specify a default shift by marking the Default checkbox next to the shift most commonly used by the technician. The default shift has no start date, and the end date defaults to 12/31/9999 and cannot be changed. The system automatically uses the default shift unless an appointment date falls within the start and end dates of another shift.

4. Edit shifts if necessary. To edit a line in the scrolling window, you must delete the line and then re-enter it. To delete a shift, select the line in the scrolling window and select Remove Shift. If the technician has been assigned to service appointments that no longer fall within the remaining shift(s), the Technician Shift Exception report prints, showing those service calls and appointments. You can either adjust the shifts and appointments, or you can assign the service appointments to a different technician. 

   

   You can also print the Technician Shift Exception report by choosing the printer button in the Technician Shift Setup window.

5. Select OK to return to the Technician Setup window.
6. Select Save.

If you make a mistake and want to delete a partial line entry in the scrolling window, right-click and select Delete Row.

For shift setup information, see Setting Up Technician Shifts.

Viewing Technician Activities

An activity is time not available for service calls, such as meetings, training, or vacation.

1. Select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Service Management > Lookup Setup > Technicians > Technicians.
2. Select a technician and select the Activities button in the Technician Setup window to open the Technician Activity Inquiry window.
3. Select OK.

For activity ID setup information, see Setting Up Technician Activity IDs.

Assigning Service Areas to Technicians

Service areas define customer locations classified by geographical area. The technician entered in the first line is considered the primary technician. The technician entered in the second line is considered the secondary technician.

1. Select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Service Management > Lookup Setup > Technicians > Technicians.
2. Select a technician and select the Service Area button.
3. The Service Area Setup window opens. See Setting Up Service Areas for information about this window.

Assigning Technicians to Multiple Branches

You can assign a technician to multiple branches. This is handy for technicians that work in more than one area, and for dispatchers who need to schedule that work. In addition, you can designate a home branch for technicians. This branch would be used to schedule PTO, training, and other miscellaneous activities if using activity scheduling. If Global Filtering is enabled, and a user has access to only one branch, he/she can still access, for example, all appointments for a technician on the Technician Board. However, that user cannot zoom on that appointment if it is for a branch to which he/she does not have access.

1. Select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Service Management > Lookup Setup > Technicians > Technicians.
2. Select a Technician.
3. In the Branch Name field, select the expansion button. The Technician Branch Setup window opens.
4. Select a Branch Name. The affiliate and region fill automatically. To add all branches, affiliates, and/or regions, mark the appropriate checkboxes. You can select Add All for only one, or more. For example, if you select an affiliate, then mark the Add All checkboxes for region and branch, the technician will be added to every branch and region for that affiliate.
5. Select Add to add the branch(es).

For branch setup information, see Setting Up Branches.